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Jul 31, 2018 at 4:03 PM

Some 33,000 riders, striders, walkers, rollers and strollers turned out to celebrate and explore the proposed six-mile linear park around the Central City.

It was hot. It was crowded. It was fun. It was rowdy. It was colorful. It was joyful.

It was epic.

It was Sunday Parkways on the Green Loop.

On July 22, 2018, tens of thousands of people (roughly 33,000) flocked to the Central City to experience a concept, an idea – of what the future could look like. A day Portlanders and visitors from all over the region may look back on and say, “I was there.”

It was the beginning of a beautiful relationship between community members and their city.

What’s the big deal?

The Green Loop concept has been around since the early days of the Central City 2035 planning process. As community members expressed a desire for a car-free way to get all the way around the central city, urban designers, land use and transportation planners, bike and pedestrian advocates, and many others gave birth to the idea of the Green Loop:

A six-mile linear park around the Central City, where people of all ages and abilities could enjoy a safe way to get to work, go for a jog, meet friends or family, see a cultural event, have a picnic or take a nap.

Jul 18, 2018 at 12:27 PM

Be among the first to follow the proposed alignment for a six-mile linear park in the Central City!

Join us on July 22 to experience the “early days” of the Green Loop

You may have heard of it, but … what exactly is it?

The Green Loop will be a six-mile linear park around the heart of Portland’s Central City, with ample room for people to play, wander, walk or ride a bike.

It will be a place for everyone in the heart of the city. Whether on foot, bike or mobility device, people of all ages, abilities and incomes will be able to get to work, go for a jog, shop, eat, rest or meet friends in the park via the Green Loop.

The Green Loop is quintessentially Portland: natural and urban, creative and entrepreneurial, sustainable and dynamic.

It's a movement to help people immerse themselves in the urban core in a new and exciting way, along trails and pathways that offer unique experiences and encounters with nature, art and each other.

The Green Loop will support businesses and social services, improving access to places where people can get the staples and support they need. And it will reconfirm Portland's commitment to greater access to parks and active transportation.

In turn, the Green Loop can become an iconic symbol of a city that values and supports all people: residents, workers, students and visitors of all ages, shapes and sizes, origins and incomes.

Healthy hearts need healthy arteries

The Central City is the region's hub — with more jobs, housing and cultural attractions than any other city in the tri-county area. And more people and jobs are coming.

As Portland grows and more people need to get around the city, we’ll need new ways (and infrastructure) for people to move in, around and through the heart of the city. The Green Loop offers a clear “artery” that won’t be clogged with cars and buses.

The Green Loop will support the growth of jobs and housing in the city center, create and connect green spaces, and offer signature public spaces for all to enjoy and experience. It will give people unprecedented access to the heart of Portland, stringing together nearly a dozen distinct districts that surround the Willamette River, each with its own history, attractions, communities, and unique look and feel.

While the Green Loop will be in the Central City, it will serve people all over Portland and the region. Whether you live in Southwest, North Portland, East Portland, or the Inner Eastside, the Green Loop will connect to bikeways that can take you to the heart of the city and back home safely and easily.

There are some segments of the Green Loop that largely exist today — like SW Moody to the Tilikum Crossing Bridge across to OMSI. And key links of the alignment will get built with other major capital improvement projects, such as the Sullivan's Crossing bike and pedestrian bridge over I-84, which will break ground in 2019. Or the U.S. Postal Service redevelopment site.

The Green Loop is still a concept, however. Public process to date has helped establish the general alignment along the Park Blocks on the west side and SE 6th or 7th through the Central Eastside and Lloyd Districts. But there is still more community engagement needed to work through design alternatives as well as design and engineering work to do prior to construction of the entire loop.

How will it be funded?

While specific funding sources for the Green Loop have not been determined, the project will require its own fundraising campaign.

But it will not take away funding already slated for other active transportation projects around Portland. Similar projects in other cities have raised funds through combinations of public financing, state and federal grants, and private philanthropy. Currently, the Green Loop is not expected to be built all at once, so its funding strategy will likely use a phased approach.

Projects like the Green Loop add value to their cities. Think New York’s Highline, the Atlanta Beltline and Indianapolis’ Cultural Trail. These infrastructure revitalization projects began as ideas from the community, which were subsequently — and enthusiastically — embraced by the public. The Green Loop will also need both public and private support to get started.

And like the Highline, Cultural Trail and Beltline, the Green Loop can stimulate billions of dollars in private investments, expand property tax bases, attract new businesses to the urban core and generate thousands of new stewards of vibrant places.

Green Loop booth @ Guardian Games on SE Taylor

On Sunday, the Green Loop team will be in front of Guardian Games at SE 3rd and Taylor. Other Green Loop-related booths (including Friends of the Green Loop and Central City in Motion) will be at the Trailblazers Plaza and the northern and southern end of the Sunday Parkways crossing over I-84 (the future Sullivan's Crossing). Stop by for a chat and some swag.

Who knows? Someday you’ll be able to say, “I was there at the beginning.”

Jun 6, 2018 at 11:35 AM

Commissioners vote unanimously to move the concept for a linear park in the heart of the city forward.

Last Thursday, May 24, 2018, the Portland City Council voted unanimously to endorse a resolution supporting the advancement of the Green Loop. The six-mile linear park around the city center was a “big idea” in the Central City 2035 Plan, which was adopted in full on Wednesday, June 6. The plan goes into effect on July 9, 2018.

As Commissioners prepared to vote, Mayor Ted Wheeler proclaimed, “The Green Loop is a fantastic vision, and I look forward to seeing it – perhaps not completed during my tenure – but I’d certainly like to see it well underway.” He went on to say that the Green Loop is an “extraordinary asset to the city,” and praised the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability (BPS) staff’s early leadership and advocacy.

“It’s always hard to be the pointy end of the spear,” he acknowledged, “but at the end of the day, everyone will show up and say you were right.”

Commissioner Dan Saltzman called it a visionary project that will connect Portlanders in a way they haven’t been before. “And it will redefine how we keep our residents safe and get around,” he concluded.

What others said

Before voting, Council heard from BPS and PBOT leadership as well as business leaders and advocates for the Green Loop.

Art Pearce, PBOT’s policy, planning and project manager, pointed out how the Green Loop will help the City achieve its Vision Zero goals. “The majority of Portland’s high-crash bicycle intersections are in the Central City as well as some of the high-crash intersections for pedestrians," he stated. “The Green Loop will emphasize those streets, making it a safe and inviting route around the Central City."

Pearce also talked about how the Green Loop can help resolve conflicts between freight trucks, pedestrians and cyclists in and around the Central Eastside.

Susan Anderson, BPS director, emphasized community support and enthusiasm for the Green Loop. "Today,” she began, “we want to focus on a segment of the Green Loop where we think the first projects are likely to happen – in the Rose Quarter and Lloyd District. There are investments already planned for this area, including the Sullivan's Crossing Pedestrian and Bike Bridge. Potential partners such as Go Lloyd, Albina Vision Trust and others make this a really strong candidate as a place to start."

Go Lloyd’s Administrative and Transit Program Manager Jenny Taylor said, "The Green Loop will help create stronger connections to our inner eastside and downtown neighbors; encourage our interested-but-concerned population to choose active transportation; and help make us a safer, healthier and more livable community.

“In addition,” she continued, “by making Lloyd the first neighborhood to receive investment in Green Loop, you get Go Lloyd as a partner in promoting it.... We are prepared to work with the City and all of our partners to make the Green Loop a long-term success for Portland."

Stated Wade Lang, vice president and regional manager of American Assets Trust,"Lloyd is a community … [with] a long history of public/private partnerships. We see value in sharing ideas, listening to stakeholders and brokering compromise to reap the highest public benefit. … The Lloyd community would be willing to work with the City to explore funding strategies and help to make the Green Loop a reality."

The Green Loop will be a place for everyone in the heart of the city. Whether on foot, bike or mobility device, people of all ages, abilities and incomes will be able to get to work, go for a jog, shop, eat, rest or meet friends in the park via the Green Loop.

It’s an initiative that will add to the Central City network of great public spaces with formal and informal places integrated with new development like the Broadway Corridor redevelopment of the old Post Office and OMSI’s redevelopment of its riverfront campus.

It can become a recognized and attractive route connecting Central City destinations and neighborhoods like the Park Blocks, the Portland Art Museum, PSU, South Waterfront, the Central Eastside and the Moda Center. Think New York City’s Highline, Atlanta’s Beltline, the Miami Underline or the Indianapolis Cultural Trail.

And, it starts to become a reality in the Lloyd District, with projects like the Sullivan’s Crossing bike and pedestrian bridge over I-84 at NE 11th/12th Avenues.

Apr 16, 2018 at 2:57 PM

This year’s event features the route for Portland’s version of the Highline.

It’s still raining in Portland. Because it’s “spring,” right?

But come July, the city will be in full blown summertime. And the river will be sparkling, and the hills will be glorious and green.

And what better way to enjoy the best of Portland than a ride, roll or stroll in the fresh air around the river during a Sunday Parkways event? You can start in the Park Blocks, cruise through Director Park (see below) and head north to cross the Broadway Bridge, weaving through the Lloyd District, crossing over I-84 and heading south into the Central Eastside to OMSI, and finally back across the river via Tilikum Crossing to PSU.

So, this year's Sunday Parkways event is a great way to see what it is and envision what it could be … A new way for people to be in the Central City — active, safe and fun. Whether on foot, bike or mobility device, people of all ages and abilities will be able to use the Green Loop to get to work, go for a jog, shop, eat out, play, and meet friends for lunch or a concert in a park.

Like Sunday Parkways every day, the Green Loop will create an exciting place for people to experience the Central City in a whole new way.

Sunday Parkways on the Green Loop

On July 22, 2018, you can join Portlanders from all over the city who will flock to the Central City for the immensely popular Sunday Parkways event. As you travel along the Green Loop alignment through thriving neighborhoods, business districts and communities along the way, you'll get a glimpse of the future of the Central City.

It's the ultimate Portland experience

The Green Loop is quintessentially Portland: natural and urban, creative and entrepreneurial, sustainable and dynamic. It's a movement to help people immerse themselves in the urban core in a new and exciting way, along trails and pathways that offer unique experiences and encounters with nature, art and each other.

The Green Loop will support businesses and social services, improving access to places where people can get the staples and support they need. And it will reconfirm Portland's commitment to greater access to parks and active transportation.

In turn, the Green Loop can become an iconic symbol of a city that values and supports all people: residents, workers, students and visitors of all ages, shapes and sizes, origins and incomes.

Come see the future of the Central City and what Portland’s version of New York's Highline could look like. Bring your family, friends, kids and critters. It’ll be summer in Portland and a great way/place to get outside.

May 16, 2017 at 5:31 PM

Excitement about and interest in the proposed six-mile linear park around the Central City shows that this urban design concept has arrived!

As the main attraction at Design Week PDX, the Green Loop concept didn’t just meet expectations for community engagement, it knocked them out of the ball park. It seemed that the work of Untitled Studios was a perfect fit for the DWP Headquarters in the Central Eastside’s The Redd.

The group of young designers and architects filled the 20,000 square foot space with myriad displays, interactive exhibits and plenty of opportunities to learn about and comment on the proposed loop for walkers, strollers and bikers of all ages and abilities.

Throughout Design Week, people could wander through the Headquarters building and experience Untitled Studios’ at their own pace.

Think about it: What would you like to see happen along the Green Loop route?

In addition to the displays, interactive maps and a life-size mockup of the loop, DWP featured several presentations and discussions focusing on the Green Loop. Hundreds of Portlanders came to listen, learn and workshop how the Green Loop is “a new type of civic ecology,” “a tool for social good,” and the subject of “Branding Strategies for Public Space.”

The University of Oregon held a design charrette, with dozens of participants, about how the Green Loop could serve as a new type of civic ecology for Portland.

Beer and virtual reality tour feature the Green Loop

And as if that weren’t enough, Portland’s own HUB brewery developed a special edition IPA just for Design Week PDX. The Green Loop IPA was on tap at the opening night party, where more than 800 people enjoyed the beer, cotton candy, dancing, speed portrait drawing and a virtual reality experience of the loop.

This is what it looked like from the outside …

And from the inside (with goggles) …

Participants said the VR experience made the case for the Green Loop. “After experiencing the VR version of the Green Loop, I felt like we have to do this! It really made the case for it,” said one participant. Others expressed similar feelings: the VR experience made an abstract concept real and arguably a good thing for the Central City.

Lots of ways to stay involved

If you missed Design Week, no worries …

You can still experience the Green Loop and help make it happen! We’ve got a new Green Loop website and map app, with lots of information and ways for you to engage moving forward. Learn more about the Untitled Studios exhibition, explore the loop and make comments on the map app, join Friends of the Green Loop, watch a video featuring Mayor Ted Wheeler and others, and then sign up for email updates.